This Blog is dedicated to the middle of the pack triathlete who is passionate about our sport and believes it is the best lifestyle you can choose.

January 2017

01/21/2017

We are now half way through the month of January and my training has been going well. Now, it definitely has not been ideal but all in all I can't complain. There is one exception to this statement and that is my right knee, specifically my burser sac that is just below my knee. I started experiencing pain in that knee and I thought there was cartilage or ligament issues that would require surgery.

After seeing my sports doctor it turned out it was tightening in the muscles leading into my knee. This was good news of course but it was also somewhat of a surprise. The therapy for treating it was stretching and strengthening those muscles. Soon after this appointment I had my bike crash and was down for a month. Now I am back in the gym and working on stretching for really the first time in my life. I am doing groin muscle stretches and also others for my legs and this leads me to the infamous foam roller.

This little torture device is an interesting form of training and rehab. They come in many different varieties and should only cost you maybe $15. What the foam roller does and try to massage your muscles and get the scar tissue that may be causing inflammation and soreness in the muscle.

You can see in this picture the athlete is working on "rolling" his calf. At times this simple movement can cause extreme pain because of that scar tissue. The thought is that over time this scar tissue is reduced or eliminated whereby your muscle now can move more freely and without pain.

Getting to that point is the trick. I have only started working with the foam roller and I can tell you it hurts. I am focusing on those muscles that lead into my right knee and so far have seen a slight improvement. When walking or biking the pain is pretty much gone. I need to keep working to try to eliminate the pain that is there when I run.

I am headed out now for a 10k easy zone 2 run but I will keep updating you how this goes. If I am going to achieve my goals for this season I have to get this darn knee fixed.

01/19/2017

In my post yesterday I omitted one important aspect of the changes I am planning on making with my training. I did note that losing weight, more running off the bike and a focus of more intensity in my training were keys to approaching this years test at Coeur D'Alene. I want to go faster than I ever have which to me means doing that race differently.

Common sense tells me that I need to train differently to make that happen. There is nothing wrong with what I have done in the past and I am proud of my finishes but I want to go faster. So yesterday when I went to Mission Valley Y to lift and swim I realized I left out weight training on what I am going to do differently this year.

I have been back in the weight room the past few weeks now that I am recovered from my bike accident and I have to tell you it is scary how weak I have become. I can do an Ironman Triathlon but I can't squat 100 pounds yet! Uggg..... I really believe that making my body stronger overall will translate to handling that second half of the marathon. Also, it will help me lean out as weight training is known to accelerate weight loss.

The plan now is to be in the weight room twice per week before swim practice. Working hard on upper body on Monday and Legs on Wednesday. It is a long battle that I face but it should be a very interesting journey. Stay tuned for updates and share with me your favorite exercises in the gym.

01/18/2017

As 2017 begins, I am setting my goals for the upcoming year and the big goal for me is going faster than I have ever gone before in any Ironman Triathlon. That would be 12:48 minutes. I did this years ago at Ironman Florida. IM Florida is considered a "fast" course which means a flat bike and run course. The swim is average since it is in the Gulf of Mexico but overall it is a place to try to get a very good time.

In looking at this upcoming year I decided to race Ironman at Coeur D'Alene. I have done this race twice before with the last race in 2013. Now I am not getting any younger so I am taking a close look at all that I do to prepare. In 2013 my splits were as follows, swim 1:05, bike 6:36 and run 5:49 and including transition times my overall time was 13:45. As you can see I need to take almost an hour off my time.

When looking at my splits the one area that jumps out is my run time. I remember walking almost the complete second half of the marathon. This will be a focus and I will detail out my approach in a few minutes. I will need to definitely improve this. My bike time was pretty good on a very tough and hilly course but I think getting 16 minutes here is possible. Again, I have an idea here. I don't think I can change my swim time much so nothing new there.

So, let's get into what I believe I need to do differently to make this happen and this is the part of what excites me most. I have completed 14 Ironmans to date so experience with the preparation and race day distance is nothing new. But, this will be a big leap for me so I HAVE to do some things differently.

Here are the key focuses for me that will be different:

1. Lose weight. I have typically raced around 180 pounds but that is due to not paying attention to the details of my diet. I believe I can get down to under 170 pounds which would get me close to my ideal race weight. In reading Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald and using his calculations as well as some body analysis in the lab this seems perfect. Getting there will be tough because it will take an everyday focus on what I eat. The benefit of this is that it should enable me to take 15 minutes off my bike time with similar preparation as I have done in the past. It will also have me running without that extra luggage for 26 miles. I have about 1.5 pounds to lose per month. This will be tough.

2. Running off the bike in training more. My friend Mark Blore recommended this, even if it is only a mile or two. Mark told me that he ran off the bike after every ride on one training block leading up to an Ironman. The benefit of this is getting your body used to running with the fatigue in your legs from riding.

3. A focus on intensity more during training. In the past, I have almost completely focused on that zone 1 or zone 2 training. This is ok but in looking back I need more climbing on the bike and more interval training in running to make it feel more difficult. I want to try to make it harder in training than it will be on race day.

All of the above will enable me to run that second half of the marathon. I will need to cut 50 minutes off the run which is basically eliminating most of the walking in the last 10-15 miles.

This will be tough, no question about it. But, the fun is really trying to do something very, very different. Let me know your thoughts or if you have any ideas. It would be great to hear from you.